Hello All,
I am thinking that I would like to start a fly tying club. I have been looking around and there is nothing in this area. The closest thing I have is about 1 hour away and it is during the week in the evenings. Unfortunately I work the 3-11 shift during the week.
I know that there are quite a few fly fisherman in the area. I don't know if they tie flies or not. I guess my question is, how would I go about trying to get something of this nature started? I will list a few resources that I do have and maybe get some feedback from you guys.
-We have a fish and game club in town.
-There is a free advertising paper called the Free trader.
-There are a few bait and tackle shops but not fly shops.
-There is an annual fly Fishing tournament in town which has a website with contact information.
I was kind of thinking that it would be great to meet twice a month or once a month to tie flies and talk fishing.
All ideas are welcome, Thanks.
Glen.

Hello All,
I guess my question is, how would I go about trying to get something of this nature started? I will list a few resources that I do have and maybe get some feedback from you guys.
-We have a fish and game club in town.
-There is a free advertising paper called the Free trader.
-There are a few bait and tackle shops but not fly shops.
-There is an annual fly Fishing tournament in town which has a website with contact information.

make up a flyer and staple them to telephone poles around your area. doesnt need to be fancy, you just have to do it.

check out that fish and game club and see if there are any fly tying members

ask to put up your new flyer in the tackle shops and in any other stores or restuarants in your area

are there any fly shops within a 30 minute drive? post you flyer there

grocery stores usually have bulletin boards. tack up your flyer there

take out an add in that free trader newspaper or even your regular local news paper

contact that website and ask them if they would post a copy of your flyer

think of other places to hang your flyer

are there any local fly tying forums in your area. post a classified ad with your idea

any of your buddies tie flies? theres a start

any trout unlimited or federation of fly fishers chapters in your area

send me a flyer and i'll post it on my blog. maybe the other members on this forum who have blogs might do the same thing to help you out

check out the concept of guys, flies and pies (pizza). a bunch of guys and gals tying flies and enjoying a few pizzas afterwords.

Great idea! I'd be in one but I am at some kind of meeting almost every day of the week. I only miss when I am gone fishing..which SOME people claim is a bit excessive. Gotta go now, leaving for Wisconsin to catch some steelhead.

Do you have a Parks and Rec in your town? Maybe a Senior Center? These types of centers are usually open for new ideas for classes or group meetings. They usually print a quarterly flier that gets distributed through out the community.

Don't know your age, but Senior Centers usually schedule stuff in the mornings and early afternoons.

Another place to ask is your library. Many libraries like to host activities, they also can help with publicity for things taking place in their facility.

Just a thought, I've organized similar things and have always had good luck using Parks and Rec.

Back in the '70s my father used to tie with a group of guys once a month
They'd meet at somebody's house and tie in the rec room or whatever.
From the looks of some of the flies that dad brought home, I think that it was just an excuse to get together and drink some whiskey

If it were me, I'd look into joining the nearest fly fishing club first and see if there's any interest and maybe see if there's a tying group already going.

Rips right, if there is already a club within striking distance, join. But their meetings will probably be during your 3 - 11 ( p.m. ? ) shift.

If you want to start a club, you’ll want doer’s - not just people who’ll sign up for anything.
Go to the busiest piece of water where fly fishers gather on the busiest fishing days you can. Drop your tailgate, put a few fly boxes out and rig your rod. It’s November, so a big ole thermos of java and a stack of cups might draw a few more in. Then try saying hello to fellow fly fishers as they come and go. Strike up a conversation, ask them about their flies, a compliment on the craftsmanship couldn’t hurt. Then ask them if they’d be interested in a tying club.

No need to make it too formal at first. We started one with just a few of us meeting at each others house; then to sports bar (not enough light so only a couple of weeks); then to senior home for past four years.
Word of mouth kept it going and growing. All were welcome. We would get new tyers; guys that hadn't tied in years; tyers nobody knew.
When I moved we had 6-10 tyers every other Tues. night. I'm still on e-mail list which is now approx. 30.
A couple of us would put tying packets (materials) together to tie two new flies each session. Tyers would bring their own vise, tools, thread. We gave the leader $3 to replace hooks and materials.
Still a very popular night which reminds me I need to get up there some Tues and have some fun.

No need to make it too formal at first. We started one with just a few of us meeting at each others house; then to sports bar (not enough light so only a couple of weeks); then to senior home for past four years.
Word of mouth kept it going and growing. All were welcome. We would get new tyers; guys that hadn't tied in years; tyers nobody knew.
When I moved we had 6-10 tyers every other Tues. night. I'm still on e-mail list which is now approx. 30.
A couple of us would put tying packets (materials) together to tie two new flies each session. Tyers would bring their own vise, tools, thread. We gave the leader $3 to replace hooks and materials.
Still a very popular night which reminds me I need to get up there some Tues and have some fun.

Thank you for the good ideas. I am going to approach a friend of mine and see if we can make a go of it.